The Catholic Weekly 28 June 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 16 NEWS 28, June, 2020 WORLD Church ponders ruling Istanbul controversy Saints or sinners, God listens to us all: Pope LGBT discrimination decision may have big consequences CATHOLIC BISHOPS in Tur- key pledged not to contest plans to turn Istanbul’s an- cient Hagia Sophia cathedral that now serves as a museum into a Muslim place of wor- ship. In announcing their deci- sion on 18 June, the bishops backed government claims that the monument’s future is a question of national sov- ereignty. “We are a church deprived of juridical status, so we can- not give any advice on this country’s internal questions,” the Turkish bishops’ confer- ence said in a statement. “Although we would wish Hagia Sophia to retain its character as a museum, it isn’t for us to intervene or even give our opinion on a de- cision which solely concerns the Republic of Turkey,” the bishops said. The statement came amid international protests against Turkish government calls for the 6th-century landmark to EVERYONE LIVES a life that is often inconsistent or a “con- tradiction” because people can be both a sinner and a saint, a victim and a tormen- tor, Pope Francis said. No matter what one’s situ- ation is, people can put them- selves back in God’s hands through prayer, he said on 24 June during his weekly gener- al audience. “Prayer gives us nobility; it is able to protect one’s re- lationship with God, who is the true companion along humanity’s journey, amidst WITH THE 6-3 US Supreme Court decision on 15 June banning job discrimination against individuals in the workplace identifying as LG- BTQ, the Catholic Church in the US has a new moment of reckoning. But it may be too early to tell what the full impact is. In response to the court ruling, which found that dis- crimination on the basis of sex also includes gender identity, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bish- ops, said, the decision had re- defined human nature. Adoption and teacher em- ployment are precisely the two issues the Supreme Court has yet to decide in its current term but which are now fo- cusing the attention of Catho- lic organsiations working in these fields. When taken together with the sexual-orientation dis- crimination case, the justic- es’ rulings could force the church, as an employer, into a new model of doing business, but it may be too early to tell. “Parties relying on the Su- preme Court need to be care- ful, and that there’s always risks in going to the court,” said Alexander Dushku, a le- gal specialist in religious or- ganisations and US Constitu- tional law. “The Supreme Court sought to assure religious em- ployers that there are plenty of tools the court has to protect their legitimate interests, but did not actually decide those questions because they were not at issue before the court,” Dushku said. “I personally think the court is going to be at least moderately generous to serious religious organisa- ¾ ¾ Jonathan Luxmoore ¾ ¾ Mark Pattison ¾ ¾ Carol Glatz The former Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul. PHOTO: CNS PHOTO/UMIT BEKTAS, REUTERS Pope Francis speaks during his weekly general audience in the Vat- ican’s library of the Apostolic Palace. PHOTO: CNS/VATICAN MEDIA A person runs with a gay pride flag in front of the US Supreme Court building inWashington. PHOTO: CNS/TOM BRENNER, REUTERS be converted into a mosque. A plan for the conversion was expected to be approved by Turkey’s highest court on 2 July. The bishops said Hagia So- phia, which St Paul VI, St John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have visit- ed, originated as “a church in communion with Rome,” but became Orthodox after the 1054 schism between eastern and western churches. It later served for nearly five centuries as a mosque follow- ing the Ottoman capture of Constantinople, today’s Istan- bul, in 1453. However, the Orthodox church in neighbouring Greece rejected the planned thousands of hardships in life, good or bad, but always with prayer,” he said. The audience, livestreamed from the library of the Apos- tolic Palace, was the pope’s last general audience talk un- til 5 August, according to Vat- ican News . His Sunday Angelus address was to continue throughout July, however. In his main talk, the pope continued his series on prayer and reflected on the role prayer played in the life of Da- vid – a young shepherd whom God called to become king of Israel. - CNS tions.” A guidance memo dis- tributed by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office of General Counsel to state Catholic conference directors and diocesan lawyers appears to agree. “The court,” it said, “leaves religious liberty con- flicts to another day.” The impact on Catholic institutional practices as em- ployers “is yet to be seen,” said Michael Moreland, a professor of law and religion at Villanova University in Phil- adelphia and director of the university’s Centre for Law, Religion and Public Policy. Moreland said it is his belief that the “ministerial excep- tion” for employees at Catho- lic institutions is well-estab- lished in the US. Many Catholic primary and high schools and parishes have a clause in employment contracts declaring that the employee is a minister. However, he added, that is far less likely to happen “in larger institutional settings -- Catholic universities, hos- pitals, social service agencies -- where it would be difficult to say that everybody counts as a quote-unquote minister.” conversion, describing Hagia Sophia as “a masterpiece of architectural genius, glob- ally renowned as one of the preeminent monuments of Christian civilisation.” “Any change will provoke strong protest and frustration among Christians worldwide, as well as harming Turkey it- self,” the church’s governing synod said on 12 June. The cathedral, founded by Emperor Justinian I on the site of two earlier churches, was the world’s largest at its dedication in 537. It became a museum in 1935 under modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atat- urk. In May, Turkish Presi- dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed he hoped to annul Ataturk’s decree and reopen the monument to Muslim worship. Abdulahmit Gul, Turkey’s justice minister, told the An- adolu news agency on 15 June that the move was “a matter of sovereignty” and reflected the “common wish” of all citizens. Critics of the move have ac- cused Erdogan’s government of using the planned conver- sion to boost support for his governing Justice and Devel- opment party amid economic hardships exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Russia’s Or- thodox Church also called on Turkey to maintain “open ac- cess to everyone,” and warned on 8 June a change in Hagia Sophia’s status would “violate fragile inter-confessional bal- ances.” Christian minorities have long complained of discrim- ination in Turkey and have faced problems recruiting clergy, establishing associa- tions and obtaining building permits. - CNS Any change will provoke strong protest and frustration among Christians worldwide, as well as harming Turkey itself.” Church’s governing synod in Turkey The Supreme Court sought to assure religious employers that there are plenty of tools the court has to protect their legitimate interests, but did not actually decide those questions because they were not at issue before the court.” Alexander Dushku